tumblebug
Ball-pushing beetle
A tumblebug is a dung beetle—any of various scarab beetles that roll balls of animal dung along the ground to bury as food for their larvae.
The name captures the beetles' characteristic behavior of tumbling their prize across uneven terrain: We watched a tumblebug push its ball twice its size up the path.
Beetle held sacred anciently
- manureAnimal waste as fertilizer
- cowpatDried cattle droppings
- droppingsAnimal excrement deposits
- fecesSolid digestive waste
excrement · scat · guano · compost · fertilizer · decomposition · pasture · cattle
Hard-winged insect
- scarabBeetle held sacred anciently
- coleopteraOrder containing beetles
- arthropodJointed-limb invertebrate phylum
- invertebrateAnimal sans backbone
exoskeleton · antennae · mandibles · larvae · grub · metamorphosis · chitin · thorax
Applying force to move
- rotatingTurning on an axis
- spinningRevolving around an axis
- wheelingMoving things on rollers
- cartwheelingSideways rotational acrobatics
gyrating · locomotion · navigation · straight-line · orientation · spherical
Organism breaking down corpses
- detritivoreEats dead organic material
- biodiversityRange of life forms
- microhabitatSmall distinct living area
- grasslandTreeless herb-covered ecosystem
savanna · prairie · rangeland · predator-prey · symbiosis · conservation
scarab
Beetle held sacred anciently
feces · excrement · scat · guano · compost · fertilizer · decomposition · pasture · cattle · burial
beetle
Hard-winged insect
- scarabBeetle held sacred anciently
- coleopteraOrder containing beetles
- arthropodJointed-limb invertebrate phylum
invertebrate · exoskeleton · antennae · mandibles · larvae · grub · metamorphosis · chitin · thorax · abdomen
pushing
Applying force to move
cartwheeling · gyrating · locomotion · navigation · straight-line · orientation · spherical
decomposer
Organism breaking down corpses
- detritivoreEats dead organic material
- biodiversityRange of life forms
- microhabitatSmall distinct living area
grassland · savanna · prairie · rangeland · predator-prey · symbiosis · conservation
tumblebugground beetle
Predatory insect on soil
tiger beetle · ladybug · aphid · pollinator